My commissioning as a Lay Minister for Music – Hilary Knight
It is difficult to put into words what this day means to me because everything I have learnt and experienced has brought me to this point. In that sense it is like reaching the goal of my Christian journey; the fulfilment of what I believe God has called me to.. But in another sense it is also a beginning. And this is very exciting for me at this stage of my life. The desire to commit my energies and myself to God through commissioning was something I discovered within me and it started to grow. Then I found myself remembering what I had learnt about the universal importance of music in human experience and from this emerged a vision for how I might develop a lay ministry. I started to use that when I helped the Limit compose a song for Christmas Afternoon Praise. And in time I hope I can help and encourage others through creative musical experiences that bring them closer to God our Creator.

Simon's new post
Thank you for your encouragement and good wishes after I announced my appointment to a new post, as Vicar of All Saints Church in Wellington, New Zealand. www.allsaints.org.nz I was touched by people's responses, which confirmed what we already know: it will be hard to leave this very special church community which we have loved being part of these past eight years. But I sense strongly that this challenge is the right next step for me in ministry. Lizzi and the children and I will be moving some time in August. There will be plenty of time for farewells, and I am looking forward to our ministry, service and worship together at St Joseph's these next six months. Simon

St Joseph’s Dovetail Project forthcoming events.
You may be aware of our need to raise £2.8m for the refurbishment of our church building. Internally our task is to raise £10k. To extend our fundraising activities we are holding a Raffle of some excellent items on Sunday 21st March in the Dovetail Centre after Service. Tickets £1 a strip, available from Randolph Reid, Sue Ripley, Shirley Dash, Millie Jones and Jennifer–Forrester - Powell. Also coming up is a Multicultural Evening for Saturday 19th June. We would like this to be a fantastic evening for everyone. We need as many participants as possible to provide a variety of tasty delights, ethnic and indigenous specialities. An evening for friends and families. Should you wish to contribute to this event please enter your name and choice of provision on the form in the Dovetail Centre; or speak to Randolph Reid, Shirley Dash, Susan Duah, Lucy Wilkinson, Sue Ripley or Audrey Fleischer. More information in due course. We look forward to your support. The Fundraising Team.

EASTER WORKSHOPS FOR SCHOOLS
You might remember that 2 years ago we put on free workshops for some of the local primary schools to come to the church and learn about Easter. We are going to be doing this again this year. We are looking for some people to come along and help tell the Easter story in different ways - through craft, drama and teaching. If you would like to be involved then please speak to Chris H.

FRIDAY NIGHT DROP IN
We know that not everyone can help out by coming along to the drop in on a Friday night; we do however have another couple of ways you can help! We are in desperate need of Table Tennis bats and balls- the more the better! We'd also like cans of Coke, Dr Pepper and Tango donated. It would really help us to keep running this Drop-In for free and keep the cost of the 'tuck' down to an affordable price if the donations of cans were on a regular basis. Please don't worry that we'll have loads of cans- we need loads. Thanks, Chris H.

21st Century Parent
This an informal parenting course, using a DVD from 'Care for the Family', that runs during Kidzone on a Tuesday afternoon. We watch a short film each week and chat about the issues it raises. Please note we will not be meeting this week (Tuesday 9th February) but will continue the sessions after half term on the 23rd February with 'The Testing Child'! Does that sound like it might be relevant to you? Come and join us at Kidzone, you don't have to have been before. Caroline Newbold

People begging at church
If someone approaches you at church or in the Dovetail Centre and asks for money, please do not give them any. For example, a woman was begging at services and in the centre recently. We have the Vicar's Discretionary Fund for this purpose, through which there is money we can use to buy food or necessities in an emergency, or a bus ticket/travel card for those in need. The staff team's policy is never to give money out to people on demand, however compelling their story. We always aim to offer callers a cup of tea or coffee and something to eat. Please help us stick to this policy, and if you would like to make a donation (preferably gift aided) to the Vicar's Discretionary Fund, please see
Simon, the Vicar or Steve, our Treasurer.